House Majority PAC goes after Koch brothers

House Majority PAC, a Democratic group that invests in congressional races, will begin running TV ads Thursday defending two Arizona Democrats, Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick and Ron Barber — both of whom have come under attack from Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group financed by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch.

Text Size

-

+

reset

Since October, AFP has spent around $3.5 million targeting House Democrats in eight districts, including Kirkpatrick and Barber, both of whom are facing tough races for reelection in 2014. Most of the ads have tied Democrats to the fumbled Obamacare rollout — a topic that’s likely to dominate congressional races this year.

The offensive has gone unanswered from Democrats, until now. House Majority PAC is spending $100,000 on each ad in defense of the Arizona members. That figure, however, is a fraction of the $650,000 AFP has spent combined against the Arizona incumbents.

Andy Stone, a House Majority PAC spokesman, said in a statement: “The billionaire Koch brothers have been spending freely to promote an agenda that is decidedly anti-family, anti-worker and anti-senior. House Majority PAC is standing up to make sure these misleading and deceptive attacks do not go unanswered.”

The Kirkpatrick ad praises the congresswoman while taking direct aim at the health care rollout: “…Ann Kirkpatrick listens and learns. It’s why she blew the whistle on the disastrous health care website, calling it ‘stunning ineptitude’ and worked to fix it.”

Levi Russell, an AFP spokesman, responded in a statement: “It would be refreshing to see Representatives Kirkpatrick and Barber be honest and upfront about the impact of a law they support, rather than attack and demonize those who are speaking out.”